Chapter 10

When they arrived at Terri's house, Steve did a quick search around the interior, checking doors, windows, and closets, making sure that there was no sign of an intruder or any trouble.

"All's clear," he reported.

"Thanks," Terri replied. She looked around the house, still feeling flustered. "You know, I still feel kind of unsettled," she said. "I think I'll make some tea." She looked at him hopefully. "I don't suppose you'd like to join me for a cup?"

"Sure," replied Steve, figuring that he could keep her company for a while until she felt more secure. As Pete's girlfriend, he felt an obligation to do what he could for her. Pete had been, for a short while, part of the BBQ Bob's team, and a friend of Jesse's, and he felt he owed it to him. Besides, it wasn't much of a strain – Terri was a very attractive, likeable young woman; an hour or two in her company would be pleasant – even if it did involve drinking more herbal tea.

While waiting for the water to boil, Terri joined Steve on the couch in the living room.

"It's really nice of you and your father to go out of your way for me like this," she said.

Steve smiled at her, shrugging slightly. "We're nice people," he replied lightly.

Terri smiled back. "I can see that."

They chatted for a while, and Terri reflected that the Sloan men certainly had a lot of charm. She found herself succumbing to that charm, relaxing into a feeling of security that she rarely felt with men. If it weren't for the gun still strapped to Steve's side, she could imagine that this were a regular social situation rather than a police one.

"You know, that thing's making me kind of nervous," she told Steve, pointing to the weapon. "Every time I look at it, it makes me feel like someone's going to break in here any minute."

Steve looked at her in surprise, but considered the point. He had made sure everything was secure in the house and the doors and windows were all locked; there didn't seem to be any imminent danger. He unclipped the holster from his belt and placed in on the end table next to the couch, behind the lamp, where it was partially hidden but would be immediately accessible in the unlikely event that he needed it.

"How's that?" he asked. "Better?"

"Much," she replied, smiling gratefully. "I just couldn't seem to relax with that thing staring at me."

The piercing whistle of the tea kettle interrupted them, and Terri got up to fix the tea. Had there been an observer in the kitchen, he would have seen a remarkable metamorphosis come over her. As she leaned against the counter near the stove, her entire expression and body posture seemed to convulse and change, turning her into a completely different person. She looked around the kitchen as if taking her bearings, her new expression one of contemptuous skepticism. You think he's so different, she sneered to her alternate self. He wants something, just like all men. He's just more dangerous than the others. I'm going to have to protect us before he finds out about us. She reached up into the cabinet and took out a small canister hidden behind the regular tea blends. I think a bit of the 'special blend' is in order…

A few minutes later, 'Terri' emerged from the kitchen with the tea tray.

"I made some of my favorite tea," she told Steve. "It's a blend of several different herbs and spices."

Steve accepted the cup of tea she poured him and took a sip. Trying not to grimace over the unusual flavor, he added some sugar to his cup and smiled politely. 'Terri' maintained a flow of small talk for a few minutes, watching to be sure he drank his tea. When she was sure he had drunk about half the cup, she excused herself, promising to be back in a minute.

Left alone, Steve looked casually around the room, noticing its neatness and muted colors, finding them somewhat surprising in a girl with a taste for flamboyant dancing. Probably a hangover from the 'neatness and propriety' her father had stressed all her life, he thought. It must have been pretty awful growing up with the father she and Karen had described. No wonder she had been so taken aback by meeting his father, he reflected with a brief grin. He wondered what her father would have thought of the head of Internal Medicine at Community General Hospital roller skating through the hallways, and the grin broadened. His thoughts started to wander, and he realized suddenly that he was feeling surprisingly groggy. He straightened himself up from the slouched position he had relaxed into, and took another gulp of his tea. It wasn't coffee, but maybe there was some caffeine in it, he thought. It didn't seem to help. He decided to try walking around to wake himself up; but when he tried to stand up, he felt dizziness wash over him, and he staggered, grabbing onto the back of a chair. Alarm bells started going off inside his head, as he realized that there was definitely something wrong here.

"Terri?" he tried to call. But he seemed to be unable to summon the energy to raise his voice loudly enough to be heard more than a few feet away. He swayed on his feet, finding it difficult to focus on anything clearly. With the remaining remnants of clarity in his mind, he realized that he had been drugged. He wondered if Terri had been drugged as well, and started to head down the hall to find her, only to bump into the couch as he staggered again. Desperately trying to think through the mists that were rapidly fogging his brain, he realized that he needed to call for help before he totally passed out. He reached down for his cell phone, only to find that it wasn't there. His thoughts processes dulled by the drug, it was a moment before he realized that he had left it in his jacket pocket, and that Terri had taken his jacket to hang somewhere. It was another moment before he realized that there was a phone in the kitchen and headed in that direction.

He staggered into the kitchen, intent on reaching the phone to call for help before he completely passed out. As he entered the room, however, he found someone there before him. The person's back was to him, and at first he thought it was a man. As Steve paused at the unexpected sight, the figure turned, and he saw that it was Terri – but this 'Terri' had light brown hair, pulled severely back off her face and tucked up under a baseball cap. As his sluggish brain tried to make sense of this transformation, 'Terri' turned and saw him, and he suddenly realized that she was holding a large carving knife.

"Terri?" he asked in confusion. Instead of replying, the figure raised the knife and lunged toward him.

Drug-dazed though his brain might be, Steve knew better than to stick around long enough to try to figure out what was happening. He turned and lurched back out into the living room, avoiding the plunging knife by inches. He staggered through the room, trying to avoid his attacker, fear sending a burst of adrenaline through his system, helping to clear his mind slightly. He remembered his gun, and headed for the end table where he had left it. Unfortunately, in his desperate lunge for it, he miscalculated – overbalancing himself into the table, sending the weapon sliding off the edge to slip under the couch as he and the table tumbled to the ground.

With a wordless cry of triumph, 'Terri' pounced.